Pa. drug company pays $180K for claims issue

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) -- A Pennsylvania pharmaceutical company will pay $180,000 to resolve claims that that it allegedly encouraged doctors to submit inflated claims to Medicare for imaging scans.

The Justice Department made the announcement March 23 about EUSA Pharma of Langhorne, Pa. The settlement resulted from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by former EUSA Pharma employee Ann-Marie Williams.

The government alleges EUSA Pharma, which makes and sells ProstaScint, a radiopharmaceutical, advised health care providers to submit multiple claims for certain imaging scans performed following use of ProstaScint, after the Society of Nuclear Medicine informed the company that only one claim should be submitted for these scans.

"Today's settlement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that the Medicare Trust Fund is used to pay for necessary medical care and is not depleted as a result of marketing schemes intended to increase sales by inflating government reimbursements," said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "We will continue to hold accountable those who abuse public health care programs at the expense of taxpayers."

A private citizen can bring suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery according to the False Claims Act. Ms. Williams will receive $30,600 as her share of the government's recovery.